The AGA conducted their regularly scheduled board meeting on April 28, 2024. They discussed the latest President’s Report, the upcoming 2024 US Go Congress, volunteer burnout, a transgender policy document, and a few other topics. President’s Report President Gurujeet Khalsa began the meeting with his regular President’s report. Here are a few key points: Membership is holding steady at about 2400 members across 140 chapters. The AGA is working to consolidate its bank accountsThe budget for next year is still being drafted.The AGA is reviewing their rating process and considering all their options. The AGA discussed an offer from Grouper that would provide new benefits to some AGA members. Edward Zhang, Alex Qi, and Ryan Li are representing the AGA in upcoming world events. Congress update: 363 registered. The early bird discount has ended. Approval of President’s 2024-2026 Term The board unanimously voted for Khalsa to continue serving as president for the 2024-2026 term. Top players choosing not to enter the Pro Qualification Event One brief topic of discussion is that some strong amateur players are not competing to become a North American pro player. One reason stated, was that amateur events like the World Amateur Go Championships are more enticing than the benefits of becoming a professional player. Volunteer Burnout? The board continues to look to rethink future Go Congresses in order to avoid volunteer burnout. The board briefly considered a volunteer recognition proposal, but the proposer of the document wasn’t present–so the board postponed their decision. Proposed Team USA Go Team There were multiple proposals that were along the lines for forming the USA Go team. But the board wanted more information and a clear plan before considering the proposals. Policy and Governance Committee There was significant discussion on the purpose of the committee and its role in relation to the board. Proposed Transgender Policy (Under Review) At the February 18 meeting, the board discussed the possibility of creating a transgender policy. The board voted down the proposal and elected to revisit the issue at the current meeting. At the most recent meeting, the board released the official statement that “The transgender policy has been referred to the Policy and Governance committee. They continue to make progress on coming up with an official policy, which the board will review once their work is complete.” Code of Conduct Committee The board acknowledged the Code of Conduct committee wasn’t currently active, and they stated their intention to make it an active committee.
